Former Florida guard Xaivian Lee is formally headed again to school basketball. After going undrafted within the 2026 NBA Draft and spending the summer season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lee has dedicated to Gonzaga, in response to On3’s Joe Tipton, giving Mark Few one other skilled playmaker for the upcoming season.
The veteran guard participated within the NBA Summer season League in Las Vegas however will as a substitute return to the faculty ranks after getting into the switch portal. His determination provides Gonzaga some of the completed guards out there, whereas offering Lee one other alternative to spice up his NBA inventory.
Commercial
$19.99 will get you a FULL yr of On3 | Rivals nationwide protection
Earlier this summer season, Lee signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Cleveland shortly after going undrafted in June, incomes a possibility to compete throughout Summer season League. Throughout 5 appearances with the Cavaliers, the 6-foot-3 guard averaged 6.4 factors, 2.0 rebounds and a pair of.4 assists in 16 minutes per recreation whereas taking pictures 40% from the sector.
Nevertheless, his outdoors taking pictures by no means fairly discovered a rhythm. Lee linked on simply 21.4% of his 3-point makes an attempt throughout Summer season League whereas posting a minus-1 plus-minus throughout his 5 contests. Though he confirmed flashes as a facilitator and playmaker, the efficiency finally wasn’t sufficient to maintain him on the NBA observe for now.
As an alternative, Lee will return to the faculty recreation after one season at Florida. He transferred to Gainesville final offseason following three standout years at Princeton, the place he established himself as one of many Ivy League’s premier gamers.
Commercial
Lee earned back-to-back First Workforce All-Ivy League honors and have become the primary participant in Princeton historical past to report a triple-double earlier than making the leap to the defending nationwide champions. That is what Gonzaga shall be anticipating together with his addition.
Whereas sharing the ball with a veteran Florida roster, Lee averaged 11.6 factors, 4.2 assists and three.7 rebounds per recreation. His 147 assists led the Gators, whereas his 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked among the many SEC’s greatest as Florida captured the SEC regular-season championship and earned a No. 1 seed within the NCAA Event.
Previous to arriving at Florida, Lee showcased his potential as a major offensive choice at Princeton. Throughout his junior season with the Tigers, he averaged 16.9 factors, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists whereas rising as one of many nation’s most versatile guards.
NBA evaluators have praised Lee’s offensive creativity, court docket imaginative and prescient and talent to create photographs off the dribble. Nevertheless, questions surrounding his dimension, defensive consistency and outdoors taking pictures contributed to him going undrafted this summer season. Now, Lee will look to reply these questions at Gonzaga.
Commercial
The Bulldogs have developed a repute for making ready skilled guards for the skilled ranks. With this determination, Lee could have one other alternative to showcase his offensive talent set in certainly one of school basketball’s premier packages.
After taking his shot on the NBA, he’ll return to Spokane with hopes of main Gonzaga on one other deep postseason run whereas bettering his draft inventory for 2027. Time will inform if he is profitable in his quest.
To maintain up with the newest gamers on the transfer, try On3’s Switch Portal wire. The On3 Switch Portal Instagram account and X (previously Twitter) account are wonderful sources to remain updated with the newest strikes.